Yesterday, I shared the best strategy I’ve learned to build an audience (see here). It’s timeless and builds credibility. It’s the strategy Warren Buffett and Paul Graham use. The strategy is this: share what you learn with others. Said differently, if you learn or figure something out, don’t hoard that wisdom. Share it with the world.

The strategy is simple enough, but it’s not easy. Lots of people share what they learn, but most of them haven’t accrued the credibility that Buffett and Graham have. What gives?

Executing this audience-building strategy and achieving the outsize results that Buffett and Graham are underlain by some critical fundamentals. Many people skimp on them, and their efforts don’t pay off as well as they could. Here are some that I’ve noticed Buffett, Graham, and others have embraced that made all the difference:

• Prioritize learning – This is the key element that most miss. Heck, I missed it when I first started this blog. Everyone has a reservoir of wisdom they’ve accumulated from living and working that they can share. You can start by sharing your reservoir, but it will drain if you’re not refilling it by learning faster than you’re sharing. When it’s empty, you no longer have anything of value to share with your audience, you lose their attention, and your audience shrinks. To keep adding value to your audience by sharing what you learn, you must learn at an accelerated pace. This means you can’t be haphazard about learning; you have to make it a priority. You must seek out resources around topics you’re interested in and consume them regularly. It’s no coincidence that people who’ve built audiences by sharing what they learn are also avid daily readers. Buffet reads 500 pages a day (see here).
• Writing – You don’t have to think clearly to speak “well,” but you do have to think clearly to write “well.” Writing down what you’ve learned forces you to think clearly and understand a topic deeply. It also forces you to figure out the best way to communicate it to others. Once you’ve written it down in a way that others can understand, you’ve cemented your understanding of the topic in your brain and made it easier for you to speak “well” about the topic with extreme confidence. Someone who speaks well will be liked, but someone who writes well (and by extension speaks well) is always held in much higher regard.
• Consistency – The point of building an audience is to get people’s attention. Once you get their attention, your job isn’t done. You must keep their attention going forward. The best way to keep their attention is to have them coming back for more. If they know you’ll share thoughts on a regular schedule, you’re more likely to keep their attention. The best audience builders who share their learnings pick a schedule and stick to it. Warrant Buffett only releases an annual letter, but people know when to expect it, and they eagerly anticipate it. He keeps their attention and maintains their interest by consistently dropping that letter once a year in the same month. Pick a frequency, communicate it, and stick to it to keep your audience’s attention.
• Perseverance – Building an audience around sharing in writing what you learn isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon. It takes time for people to find what you’ve shared. So, don’t expect results or praise to come quickly. Howard Marks is a billionaire distressed-debt investor who is the founder of Oaktree Capital. He writes two or so long-form “memos” every year that explain investing concepts and current market conditions. He started writing these memos and sending them to his clients in 1990. He wrote them into a void for a decade. A decade! It wasn’t until 2000 that anyone acknowledged receiving or reading his memos. His 2000 memo went the equivalent of viral in the investing world. See more here and here. Now, his memos are eagerly anticipated, widely read, and praised by the smartest minds in the world. I read or listen to each memo the week it drops.

To sum up, building an audience by sharing what you’re learning is simple but not easy. To execute the strategy effectively and achieve outsize results, you must accelerate your learning (about things you’re interested in), write down what you’ve learned, be consistent with your sharing, and commit to sharing for a long period, regardless of feedback.

If you embrace these fundamentals, sharing what you learn can help build an audience in a timeless manner that enhances your credibility in the minds of your audience and engenders immense loyalty.

If you don’t believe me, look at the sharing journeys of Warren Buffett, Howard Marks, Paul Graham, and others.

I’ve noticed more people building audiences (think followers on X, LinkedIn, Reddit, etc.) and then creating solutions to problems they learn about from audience feedback. When the solution is built, they then have ready-made distribution. They point their audience to the solution they built. It’s a reverse-marketing approach (build an audience, then a product) that I’ve seen be highly effective for some people, so I studied it.

I’ve learned about lots of ways to go about building these audiences. Some are timeless; others, a flash in the pan. Some are questionable and erode trust; others build credibility and trust. The ones that interest me are timeless and build credibility. They’ve worked historically and will continue to work in the future. You build long-term trust with the audience by adding value to them.

So, what’s the best strategy I’ve found that meets these criteria? It’s simple, actually: Share what you learn. I’ve noticed that people who take the time to share their wisdom build loyal audiences who respect them highly. No selling or upsells. Just free game anyone can consume. This strategy is tried and true. So, who are some people who’ve used this strategy to build audiences?

• Paul Graham – The founder of Y Combinator is also a prolific blogger. Graham has an essay section on his blog that people rave about. These essays are long-form distillations of Graham’s understanding of topics. They are often quoted widely by founders and investors. Some were written many years ago, but the wisdom in them is timeless and still shared and written about. Like this one from 2004 about making wealth or this one from 2006 about doing what you love. Timeless wisdom led to timeless content that attracted a huge international audience on the internet.  
• Warren Buffett – The Oracle of Omaha is often regarded as one of the best investors ever, but if you think about it, he’s really operating a mix of a hedge fund and a private equity (PE) firm in a single firm. Lots of people have generated amazing returns by founding hedge funds and PE firms. But most people don’t think as highly of them as they do of Buffet. Why is Buffett different? Buffett isn’t just an investor; he’s also a teacher. He puts a tremendous amount of time and energy into sharing what he’s learned with others. For decades, he’s written an annual letter (spending months to do it) that he distributes widely (see letters back to 1977 here). Also for decades, he’s held an annual meeting at which people can ask him anything. He’s written countless articles in various publications sharing his thoughts, investing principles, and (in his early days) stock picks. He’s given so many CNBC interviews that CNBC created an archive and dedicated a portion of its website to it (see here). By sharing what he knows, he’s built a loyal base of disciples (an audience) who hold him in high regard. Many people followed his value-investing principles (which he borrowed from people like Ben Graham and Philip Fisher) and became rich, thus cementing his credibility.

These are just two examples; many others have had outsize success with this approach.

This sounds like a simple strategy, and it is. But after digging more, I’ve learned that although it’s simple, it’s not easy. There’s a critical component of the strategy that’s necessary to make it work, and it, too, is simple but far from easy to execute.

This post is already pretty long, so I’ll share that critical part in tomorrow’s post.

Last month I shared my love for the micro SMB market and my observation that many start-ups overlook it (see here). This week, I listened to a founder who’s targeting this market give an update on his progress. The TL;DR is that it’s starting to work. He’s beginning to land paying customers and see his monthly recurring revenue increase month over month. But it’s tough and taking longer than he expected.

A few of my takeaways from this founder’s experience so far:

• Go-to-market (GTM) – Finding and converting micro SMBs into paying customers is difficult. They’re scattered all over the place and busy operating. You likely can’t find them on tried-and-true places like LinkedIn. Instead, you have to think of them as consumers and market to them that way (I think of them as prosumers). Finding them in the places they’re already hanging out (e.g., Facebook groups or Reddit forums) is a good first step. Figuring out how to add value where they are builds trust and increases the chances that you’ll get them into your sales funnel.
• Wannabes – Targeting aspirational micro SMB entrepreneurs isn’t a great strategy. Even if your GTM is good and you find them, they still may not buy what you’re selling because the problem you’re solving isn’t real to them (yet). Target micro SMBs who are already generating revenue and trying to grow. They’ll instantly understand the value of the solution you’re providing. They’ve tasted some success, and they’re hungry for more. Position yourself as the person trying to help them build their empire.
• Start narrow – Building on the GTM point above, starting with a narrowly defined problem and a narrow persona for an ideal target micro SMB is likely a good approach. It’s much easier to measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and iterate on them when you’re focused narrowly. Going wide is akin to trying to boil the ocean (and the micro SMB market is HUGE).
• Moat – Because finding micro SMBs is challenging, many players tend to avoid this market and go after SMBs (mid-market businesses) or enterprises instead. Therefore, if you can figure it out, you’ll have a big competitive advantage. You’re less likely to have competitors because what you’ve done seems impossible to others. Less competition means you can capture a larger share of the market before having to worry about competitive pressures that erode margins.
• Partnerships – If your GTM is working well, other companies will likely want to partner with you or pay you to tap into your micro SMB customer base because they can’t figure out how to replicate what you’ve done. This creates all kinds of opportunities and leverage in relationship conversations. If done strategically, it could get your cost to acquire a customer to zero or even turn into a profit center.
• Runway – Finding your strategy to locate and acquire micro SMBs isn’t like executing a proven playbook, such as enterprise SaaS sales. It’s about creating something from scratch that may not have been done before. Lots of testing and iteration are required. Because there isn’t a predictable formula or strategy, you have no idea how long it will take. Maximizing your runway is critical so you’ll have enough time to experiment and, quite frankly, catch a lucky break.
• Small tickets – Selling to micro SMBs means the average amount you get from a customer is likely to be low. So, you need lots of customers to build a meaningful amount of revenue. That takes time, so you need to give yourself plenty of it. But once it starts rolling at a steady pace, it can snowball quickly.
• Payments – Offering a product that makes it easier for micro SMBs to accept payments from their customers puts you in the revenue path. Once they rely on your product or service to generate their revenue, they’re less likely to leave.
• Workflows – Micro SMBs usually have zero processes and are often one- or two-person companies. If your product offers processes where none exist or automates tedious manual processes, that’s huge to these micro companies because you can help them generate more revenue without needing to add headcount.

I’m excited for this entrepreneur. I think he’s on to something big. If he can crack the GTM for micro SMBs, I think he’ll build a shockingly big business fast.

In 2024, I committed to reading a book (usually a biography) every week, and to date, I’ve done it for 65 consecutive weeks. I wanted to share what I’m reading and also keep track for myself, which, surprisingly, was hard to do (see here). So, I created the Library section on this website. I added to the Library all the books I’ve read since I embarked on my book-a-week habit. And I’ve committed to adding my latest read to the Library every Sunday. It’s a weekend habit that helps me document and share my continuous learning journey in a fun way.

However, I also read books before 2024, and I want to capture and share those as well. My goal is to add them to the Library over time. During Memorial Day weekend, I added five (see here). That inspired me to experiment with adding two books every weekend until my backlog is cleared. Two weekends ago, I added two books (see here), and this past weekend I added two more:

• Capital Wars by Micheal Howell
• Seeking Wisdom by Peter Bevelin

That’s the latest on my weekend goal. I hope that sharing these books via my Library will add value to others.

I’m a first-generation entrepreneur who loves to learn, and I’m committed to learning as much as I can about entrepreneurship. The best way I’ve found to do it is to study other entrepreneurs and the frameworks they use. So, every week, I read a book, usually a biography. Then, every Sunday, I post my latest read in my Library on this site.

Several years ago, an entrepreneur friend mentioned Dale Carnegie and told me how useful his book was in helping him improve his interactions with his team. I was intrigued and bought Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends & Influence People, but I never made it a priority to read it . . . for seven years.

In the last six months, I’ve gotten more interested in human psychology and have been reading up on the topic. Several books and people have mentioned Carnegie’s book. I decided to dust off my copy and give it a read. The book was initially published in 1936 but has been updated several times. My paperback copy was published in 1998, but I plan to also read the 2022 edition.

Carnegie’s book focuses on his easy-to-understand framework and breaks it down into four parts:

• Techniques for Interacting with People
• Making People Like You
• How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking
• Leadership: How to Change People without Offending or Angering Them

For each part, he explains several principles that help you improve in that area. What I liked was that he connected each principle to examples that crystallize how it had been applied in real life. He didn’t leave it up to the reader to figure out the application of the principles.

I now understand why so many people like this book and why it’s been a bestseller for decades. It helps anyone easily understand how to improve their interactions and relationships with others. Who doesn’t want that?

An interesting fact is that Warren Buffett took Carnegie’s course on public speaking many years ago. He credits that course with improving his interactions with others and getting him past his fear of public speaking. The principles taught in that course are some of the principles in this book.

Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

Cumulative metrics (since 4/1/24):

• Total books read: 66
• Total blog posts published: 427

This week’s metrics:

• Books read: 1
• Blog posts published: 7

What I completed this week (link to last week’s commitments):

• Read Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends & Influence People, which lays out Carnegie’s framework for improving interpersonal skills, building relationships, and making others receptive to your way of thinking; it’s a great book about learning to “deal with people,” as Carnegie puts it
• Added two more books that I read in 2023 to the library on this site—see more here
• Created a digest of A Technique for Producing Ideas that distills the book’s main concepts into a short document

What I’ll do next week:

• Read a biography, autobiography, or framework book
• Add two more books I read in 2023 to the library on this site—see more here
• Create a digest of one biography, autobiography, or framework book

Asks:

• If you know any senior full-stack developers interested in working on the software for my current project, please introduce us!

Week two hundred seventy-one was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

What I struggled with:

• No material struggles last week

What I learned:

• Byrne Hobart founded The Diff, a newsletter about “inflections in finance and tech” that’s popular among investors and entrepreneurs. Hobart made the point that a few successful people started their companies because they first shared their thoughts via their newsletter. Doing so helped them become known for their thinking (i.e., develop a brand) and build a list of potential customers (i.e., newsletter subscribers). Hobart mentioned Shelby Davis, Ray Dalio and Bridgewater Capital, Bill Gurley, Warren Buffett, Charles Schwab, and others. A newsletter, he said, can be thought of as a brand and list of potential customers in search of a business. This is an interesting way to think about newsletters. To listen to Hobart talk about it, watch it here.

That’s what I learned and struggled with last week.

One thing I learned when my buddy helped me set up Google Tag Manager (GTM) on this blog was that to make the data actionable, I need to increase the number of readers. If we were to make big changes based on current GTM data, they could end up being mistakes. He tasked me with getting more people to the site. So far, people just organically find the site with no effort from me.

I’ve been thinking about doing this in two ways. One strategy is to create more content that people have already indicated they like. That’s already in progress. The other strategy is to increase awareness of the existing content. I don’t have a big social media following, but I’ve been testing a social strategy.

I’m a habitual lurker on social. I consume but rarely post. For some reason, the idea of posting my thoughts makes me uncomfortable, even though I blog every day. LOL. I decided to change this and began joining conversations. If there’s something I’m knowledgeable or curious about or that I found helpful, I’ll say so in an existing conversation. If I have knowledge or a perspective that others might find helpful, I’ll share my thoughts, and if it makes sense, I’ll provide a link to a post where they can read more of my thoughts on the topic or to the Library on this site, where they can read my notes on a particular book they might find helpful.

It’s early, but I’m seeing positive signs. And it’s surprisingly fun to be part of conversations about things I’m interested in. I’m still not starting new conversations; I’m just joining other people’s. But this feels like a baby step in that direction.

The beginning of this year was full of frustration and pain related to sharing and tracking the books I’d read (see here). My Google Sheet wasn’t cutting it anymore, and I couldn’t share it publicly (it’s pretty crude). That led to my adding a Library section to this site in February, which I’m happy with. The look and feel will get tweaked more, but the functionality is just what I was aiming for.

I mainly read biographies about entrepreneurs, and I want a way to track and share my research about these people. The process has been slow, with starts and stops, but I now have a better idea of how I want it to work. So that’s the current side project I’m working on for this site. Hopefully, I’ll have something to share in a few weeks that you’ll find useful and that will help you learn more about entrepreneurs too.

One of my friends, whom I’ve known for decades, told me I do a great job of researching and of learning about topics at a deeper level than most. He said that’s the reason he comes to me when he has an idea or wants to talk through something—I can often share a piece of information I’ve learned along the way and point him toward an article or other resource he finds useful.

He suggested that I link to more things I find interesting on my blog instead of primarily sharing when people ask. He thinks people would find the curation helpful.

I like this idea, but I’m not sure what it would look like in practice. I do share some links or resources today, but I don’t share most of what I consume. I’ll think more about this, because I like the idea of being more intentional about regularly sharing the resources I’ve found valuable via this blog.

Let me know what you think.